Tingles
by RosylaGypsy
Summary: Rum Tum Tugger and Mistoffelees, out for a midnight stroll. They get into a spot of trouble. One-shot.


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This would be my first CATS fanfic in . . .well, a very long time. Just had to get it off my chest.

_**Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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**Tingles**

It started as these things commonly do:

"Oi, Misto, you busy?"

"Well, as a matter of fact . . ."

"Great, move your tail then. The streets are lonely, and the Rum Tum Tugger is bored."

This was met with a resigned sigh. "And curious, I presume?"

"Yeah, that too."

Mistoffelees decided then and there that the night was going to end in chaos.

After several minutes of trekking through the dark alleys in comfortable silence (save for Munkustrap's dire warnings about potentially lurking Crime Lords ringing in their ears), Mistoffelees finally addressed his friend. "So. Is there any destination in that hormone-driven brain of yours, or are we just walking?"

Tugger snorted at the playful insult. "What's the matter, Tuxie? Can't handle a little adventure? Is the scary unpredictable-ness of our situation throwing you off track?"

The smaller tom sniffed in response. "Unpredictable-ness is not a word, and even if it was, it would not bother me. I'm a magician, you see, and we are not commonly predictable." A tingle on the back of his neck made him look around but the alley was deserted save for them. Frowning, he glanced at his companion, but he looked completely at ease.

"Well, that much was obvious from the look on your face when your paws started electrocuting everything in sight last month at the Ball." Tugger grinned in fond reminiscence. "It was pretty funny."

Misto flushed. "Strange that you didn't mention that when you were weaving poetic sing-alongs about my magnificence," he pointed out snidely, but his attention was again diverted by the persistent prickling sensation. This time he spun in a full circle, his sharp eyes surveying every blackened corner, but there was nothing there. It was starting to disturb him.

"Well one of us had to make a good impression in front of the Tribe, and you were too bloody bashful to even throw in a word or two, so it was up to me as always . . . you got a grasshopper in your fur, Misto?" Tugger had finally caught on to his friend's twitchy unease, and now favoured him with an odd look.

Ignoring the jibe, he continued to scowl intensely at their surroundings. "Do you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"Feel . . . that! The tingling."

"The . . ? Oh. _That_ tingling."

Misto glanced at him hopefully. "You feel it, too?"

Tugger's eyes now turned sympathetic as they looked down at Misto. "Well, I know what you're talking about, my clever young friend – but I'm sorry to tell you that no, I don't feel it."

The black tom stared, non-plussed. "Huh?"

"There's no need to be embarrassed, it happens to the best of us. Well, not me, obviously, but every other young tom and queen out there is bound to experience it at some point."

"What in Heavyside are you talking about?"

His companion heaved a tragic sigh and looped his arm around his shoulders. "You see Mr Mistoffelees, there comes a time in every Jellicle's life when they realise that they are, in fact, in love . . . with the one and only Rum Tum Tugger. This epiphany usually comes to them after spending a short period of time in my presence, when they are suddenly hit, as you say, with a sort of euphoric tingling. Now, I'll admit I had thought you might have missed out on this wonderful, enlightening experience, but as it turns out, my fears were unfounded, for you have fallen in love with me."

Misto couldn't bring himself to form a response. But the Tugger was not done yet. "And now I must perform the solemn ritual of gently but sadly rejecting you, for my heart, unfortunately, it a fickle thing and cannot be tied down by any tom or queen, no matter how enchanting they may be." He gave him a bracing pat on the back. "Don't take it personally. I think they have a support group back at the Junkyard."

Silence reigned for a long moment. Misto was the first to break it with a bit of incoherent spluttering. "I . . . you . . . what . . ?"

A wide grin spread across the Tugger's face, threatening to split it in half. "Don't worry, the speechlessness is also a common side effect, but it will soon pass . . ." He dodged a vicious swipe at his head.

The young magician's tail lashed back and forth in irritation as he aimed another futile blow at the hysterical cat. "That was _not_ funny!"

Tugger stopped chortling for long enough to point triumphantly at his friend. "Worked though, didn't it? You actually thought for a moment that you were in love with me!" He let out another whooping laugh, then suddenly sobered as a troubling thought occurred to him. "You're ah . . . not, are you?"

Misto thought that his next words might be better expressed with a nice bolt of lightning aimed at Tugger's arrogant rear, but before he could raise his paw, the vicious tingles suddenly attacked once again, stronger than ever.

"Aw, I do love a domestic quarrel."

The voice was bodiless, bouncing eerily off the brick walls on either side of them. Both cats tensed up and automatically moved closer to the other in a defensive position. Mistoffelees allowed a few sparks of electricity to crackle in his paws.

"Enough of these tricks," he demanded at the empty air, trying to sound intimidating in contrast to his size. If they were dealing with something magic, as it so appeared, then he was hardly vulnerable, but that didn't mean they would get off easy. Thoughts of a vengeful Macavity sprung into his head, along with a large dollop of anxiety, but he forced them away. "Show yourself!"

There was an echoing chuckle. "Presumptuous little thing, isn't he Tugger?"

The older cat gave a deceptively casual shrug. "He can be a handful. Still, so can I – you looking for a demonstration?" He was clearly relying on his considerable height, impressive mane and over-sized ego to intimidate their unknown adversary. It worked sometimes, but when it actually came to a fight, well . . . that was usually when Munkustrap made a conveniently-timed intervention. The Tugger, for all that he attracted trouble like pre-pubescent queens, was not a fighter.

Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

Another ringing chuckle. "Well, you know what they say, boys . . . careful what you wish for!"

That sentence was enough to make Misto realise that they were dealing with a female – which was rather lucky, because the cat who suddenly appeared in front of them gave absolutely no indication whatsoever. Her grey coat was nondescript to the point where he wondered if she had been in plain view all along and he simply hadn't noticed. But the glint of magic in her brownish eyes told him differently; it spoke of a potential danger that rippled beneath her dull surface.

He felt the same shadow of doubt that had preceded his performance at the Jellicle Ball. Could his powers even hope to match up against another, probably much more experienced, conjuror?

While he pondered these troubling thoughts, the queen gave them an amused look. "Well, don't you two make an adorable pair. Strutting about through the streets like you own them . . . Jellicles, right?" There was a slight mocking tone in her voice that made Misto guess she was already perfectly aware of their Tribe of origin.

Tugger fluffed up his mane a bit, which Misto recognised as either a cocky or nervous gesture. It was hard to tell at the moment. "Who wants to know?"

She smiled unnervingly. "No one important."

He raised an eyebrow and gave her an appreciative once-over. "Really? Could have fooled me."

She blinked in what seemed to be surprise – as did Misto – but shook it off quickly. "Well, I hate to interrupt your stroll, but there's someone who would really like to make your acquaintance."

Tugger nodded sagely. "Ah. Macavity, right? Shifty bloke, evil cackle, looks a bit like an electrocuted mop? Yeah, we've had a few dealings. Tell me, love, what's a pretty bird like you doing with a crook like him?"

Misto wanted to bang his head against the nearest wall. He couldn't believe the incorrigible tom was actually trying to _flirt_ their way out of this situation.

He couldn't believe it even more when she blushed. "Um . . . well, he pays good."

Tugger gave her a wide-eyed, earnest look. "But can money truly buy what's worth living for?"

Mistoffelees decided to intervene before she came to her senses and turned them both into smouldering crisps on a silver platter for their arch-nemesis. (Also, he was feeling a teensy bit ignored. Didn't glowing paws count for _anything_?) He cleared his throat importantly. "Miss, you can tell Macavity that we are not interested in coming with you. If either you or he tries to harm us, we will be forced into drastic measures." He made his coat sparkle a bit for emphasis.

However, the effort was in vain, for the queen was now gazing at the Rum Tum Tugger with glassy eyes. She seemed to have forgotten her original purpose for being there in the first place. "I think . . . I feel a bit . . . tingly," she whispered.

Tugger grinned and thrust his hips out. "Is that so, love?"

She fainted.

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Munkustrap sighed and rubbed his temples with his paws. His younger brother would be death of him one of these days. "Tugger?"

"Yes, Munk?" Well, at least he looked a bit nervous.

"Would you please tell me why there is a grey hench-cat of undiscernible gender mewling at our doorstep?"

Both he and his smaller companion studied their paws, although the latter seemed to be doing it out of sheer petulance. He narrowed his eyes. "Well?"

Eventually, the curious cat gave a helpless shrug and smiled winningly. "What can I say, Munk? The charm of the Tugger is irresistible."

Mistoffelees muttered something unintelligible. His taller friend patted him on the shoulder. "You tell him, Misto." The glare he received in response was quite venomous.

Munkustrap sighed again, this time in defeat. "Should I expect an entire army of love-struck strays attempting to invade our home in the near future?"

Tugger tapped his chin thoughtfully. "That depends – can you give me a week?"

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**Thanks for reading!**


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